After their nine-year basic education in a comprehensive school, students at the age of 16 may choose to continue their secondary education in either an academic track (lukio) or a vocational track (ammattikoulu), both of which usually take three years. Tertiary education is divided into university and polytechnic (ammattikorkeakoulu, often translated into English as "university of applied sciences") systems. Only universities award licentiate- and doctoral-level degrees. Formerly, only university graduates could obtain higher (postgraduate) degrees, however, since the implementation of the Bologna process, polytechnic degree holders can now qualify for further academic study by doing additional courses. There are 20 universities and 30 polytechnics in the country.

The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists Finland as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark, Australia and New Zealand.

Higher Education system restructuring

Due to globalization and increasing competition for diminishing younger age groups, system-wide restructuring has been called for by the Ministry of Education. Since 2006 all institutions of higher education have been shar methods of cooperation. The total number of institutions is expected to drop significantly within 10–15 years.

The process within universities is led by the University of Kuopio and the University of Joensuu, which will form a new University of Eastern Finland in 2010. In Helsinki, three local universities, namely Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and University of Art and Design Helsinki, merged to a new Aalto University on August 1, 2009. Also several polytechnics have announced mergers (such as Haaga and Helia, which merged into Haaga-Helia in 2007).

New methods of cooperation such as consortia and federations have been introduced within universities (e.g., University of Turku and Turku School of Economics Consortium). Partnerships between universities and polytechnics are also developing (e.g., the University of Kuopio and Savonia University of Applied Sciences formed the Northern Savonia Higher Education Consortium). In general, such system-wide change closely follows the pattern established in Central Europe and the United States and Spain and Hungary.

JNS List of Finland Institutions:

1. • UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI 
2. • NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY 
3. • ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS 
4. • HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 
5. • UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN HELSINKI 
6. • SIBELIUS ACADEMY 
7. • SWEDISH SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 
8. • HELSINKI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 
9. • ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY 
10. • UNIVERSITY OF TURKU 
11. • UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE 
12. • UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ 
13. • TURKU SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 
14. • UNIVERSITY OF OULU 
15. • TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 
16. • UNIVERSITY OF VAASA 
17. • UNIVERSITY OF JOENSUU 
18. • LAPPEENRANTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 
19. • UNIVERSITY OF KUOPIO 
20. • THEATRE ACADEMY 
21. • UNIVERSITY OF LAPLAND